Google Apps for Business
[Flash Research Paper Assignment for MIS 2501, Enterprise IT Architecture – Spring 2013]
By utilizing Google Apps for Business, our company will experience smoother collaboration, increased efficiency, and growth opportunities. We currently collaborate over multiple email exchanges, sending modified documents back and forth as attachments. Google Apps for Business is a cloud-based, secure platform that simplifies sharing with the use of a single Internet browser. In working with a variety of retailers, Google Apps will provide a collaboration service capable of use by our Mom-and-Pop accounts, national accounts like Staples, and mid-sized retailers in between. With these available advantages, our organization should implement Google Apps for Business.
A key capability of Google Apps for Business is Google Sites. Google Sites is a tool that allows businesses to create a shared workspace in which users may view and collaborate on documents, calendars, and spreadsheets instead of attaching this content to emails. Google Sites also allows site owners to customize access lists for different pages of each site. For example, this feature could be used to permit retailers to view only parts of the project site relevant to them. Within Sites, tools such as Google Checkout can be easily integrated. Google Checkout provides a fast, secure, online checkout process with a flexible shopping cart and payment infrastructure. The tool also allows businesses to quickly set up virtual storefronts, increasing ease of use for both vendors and buyers. In this sense, our organization may choose to harness Google Sites not only for increased collaboration, but as a marketing tool to retain current accounts and attract more customers.
Entirely cloud-based, Google Apps for Business requires no investment in costly hardware; rather, Google automatically applies live updates to system software. The platform operates on a cost-per-user basis, at just $5 per user per month. If implemented, Google Apps for Business will allow our organization, suppliers and customers to collaborate efficiently without the hassle of multiple email exchanges. The ease of use and flexibility of tools like Google Checkout will reduce problems with customer orders. Google Sites will also create opportunity for expansion by utilizing the platform to market to potential customers. These cost and collaboration advantages make Google Apps for Business a technology worth implementing.
Works Cited
“15 Tips to Get the Most out of Google Docs.” The Next Web. 2 Sept. 2011. Web. 27 Mar. 2013.
“Apps for Business.” Google. Web. 27 Mar. 2013.
“Official Google Enterprise Blog: Now Available with Google Apps: Google Checkout.” Official Google Enterprise Blog. 8 Dec. 2010. Web. 27 Mar. 2013.